System and method for transfer of clipboard data between display screens

ABSTRACT

An information handling system includes a first display device having a touch-sensitive surface capable of detecting a stylus. The stylus may communicate with the first display device via the touch-sensitive surface. A processor copies content from the touch-sensitive surface to a first memory of the first display device, and stores an identifier key and a public key that are both associated with the first display device to a second memory. The processor may also establish a secure communication link between the first display device and a second display device using the identifier key and the public key, and paste the content from the first memory to the second display device using the stylus.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to information handling systemsand more particularly relates to the transfer of clipboard data betweendisplay screens.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an information handling system. An information handlingsystem generally processes, compiles, stores, or communicatesinformation or data for business, personal, or other purposes.Technology and information handling needs and requirements can varybetween different applications. Thus, information handling systems canalso vary regarding what information is handled, how the information ishandled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, andhow quickly and efficiently the information can be processed, stored, orcommunicated. The variations in information handling systems allowinformation handling systems to be general or configured for a specificuser or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airlinereservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. Inaddition, information handling systems can include a variety of hardwareand software resources that can be configured to process, store, andcommunicate information and can include one or more computer systems,graphics interface systems, data storage systems, networking systems,and mobile communication systems. Information handling systems can alsoimplement various virtualized architectures. Data and voicecommunications among information handling systems may be via networksthat are wired, wireless, or some combination.

SUMMARY

An information handling system includes a first display device having atouch-sensitive surface capable of detecting a stylus. The stylus maycommunicate with the first display device via the touch-sensitivesurface. A processor copies content from the touch-sensitive surface toa first memory of the first display device, and stores an identifier keyand a public key that are both associated with the first display deviceto a second memory. The processor may also establish a securecommunication link between the first display device and a second displaydevice using the identifier key and the public key, and paste thecontent from the first memory to the second display device using thestylus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relativeto other elements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the presentdisclosure are shown and described with respect to the drawings herein,in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information handling systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system for transfer ofclipboard data between display screens, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are flowcharts illustrating a method for transfer ofclipboard data between display screens, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description in combination with the Figures is provided toassist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The descriptionis focused on specific implementations and embodiments of the teachingsand is provided to assist in describing the teachings. This focus shouldnot be interpreted as a limitation on the scope or applicability of theteachings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an information handling system 100including processors 102 and 104, a chipset 110, a memory 120, agraphics adapter 130 connected to a video display 134, a non-volatileRAM (NV-RAM) 140 that includes a basic input and outputsystem/extensible firmware interface (BIOS/EFI) module 142, a diskcontroller 150, a hard disk drive (HDD) 154, an optical disk drive 156,a disk emulator 160 connected to a solid-state drive (SSD) 164, aninput/output (I/O) interface 170 connected to an add-on resource 174 anda trusted platform module (TPM) 176, a network interface 180, and abaseboard management controller (BMC) 190. Processor 102 is connected tochipset 110 via processor interface 106, and processor 104 is connectedto the chipset via processor interface 108. In a particular embodiment,processors 102 and 104 are connected together via a high-capacitycoherent fabric, such as a HyperTransport link, a QuickPathInterconnect, or the like. Chipset 110 represents an integrated circuitor group of integrated circuits that manage the data flow betweenprocessors 102 and 104 and the other elements of information handlingsystem 100. In a particular embodiment, chipset 110 represents a pair ofintegrated circuits, such as a northbridge component and a southbridgecomponent. In another embodiment, some or all of the functions andfeatures of chipset 110 are integrated with one or more of processors102 and 104.

Memory 120 is connected to chipset 110 via a memory interface 122. Anexample of memory interface 122 includes a Double Data Rate (DDR) memorychannel and memory 120 represents one or more DDR Dual In-Line MemoryModules (DIMMs). In a particular embodiment, memory interface 122represents two or more DDR channels. In another embodiment, one or moreof processors 102 and 104 include a memory interface that provides adedicated memory for the processors. A DDR channel and the connected DDRDIMMs can be in accordance with a particular DDR standard, such as aDDR3 standard, a DDR4 standard, a DDR5 standard, or the like.

Memory 120 may further represent various combinations of memory types,such as Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) DIMMs, Static Random-AccessMemory (SRAM) DIMMs, non-volatile DIMMs (NV-DIMMs), storage class memorydevices, Read-Only Memory (ROM) devices, or the like. Graphics adapter130 is connected to chipset 110 via a graphics interface 132 andprovides a video display output 136 to a video display 134. An exampleof a graphics interface 132 includes a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect-Express (PCIe) interface and graphics adapter 130 caninclude a four-lane (x4) PCIe adapter, an eight-lane (x8) PCIe adapter,a 16-lane (x16) PCIe adapter, or another configuration, as needed ordesired. In a particular embodiment, graphics adapter 130 is provideddown on a system printed circuit board (PCB). Video display output 136can include a Digital Video Interface (DVI), a High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI), a DisplayPort interface, or the like, andvideo display 134 can include a monitor, a smart television, an embeddeddisplay such as a laptop computer display, or the like.

NV-RAM 140, disk controller 150, and I/O interface 170 are connected tochipset 110 via an I/O channel 112. An example of I/O channel 112includes one or more point-to-point PCIe links between chipset 110 andeach of NV-RAM 140, disk controller 150, and I/O interface 170. Chipset110 can also include one or more other I/O interfaces, including anIndustry Standard Architecture (ISA) interface, a Small Computer SerialInterface (SCSI) interface, an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C) interface,a System Packet Interface (SPI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB), anotherinterface, or a combination thereof. NV-RAM 140 includes BIOS/EFI module142 that stores machine-executable code (BIOS/EFI code) that operates todetect the resources of information handling system 100, to providedrivers for the resources, to initialize the resources, and to providecommon access mechanisms for the resources. The functions and featuresof BIOS/EFI module 142 will be further described below.

Disk controller 150 includes a disk interface 152 that connects the disccontroller to a hard disk drive (HDD) 154, to an optical disk drive(ODD) 156, and to disk emulator 160. An example of disk interface 152includes an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface, an AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA) such as a parallel ATA (PATA) interface or aserial ATA (SATA) interface, a SCSI interface, a USB interface, aproprietary interface, or a combination thereof. Disk emulator 160permits SSD 164 to be connected to information handling system 100 viaan external interface 162. An example of external interface 162 includesa USB interface, an institute of electrical and electronics engineers(IEEE) 1394 (Firewire) interface, a proprietary interface, or acombination thereof. Alternatively, SSD 164 can be disposed withininformation handling system 100.

I/O interface 170 includes a peripheral interface 172 that connects theI/O interface to add-on resource 174, to TPM 176, and to networkinterface 180. Peripheral interface 172 can be the same type ofinterface as I/O channel 112 or can be a different type of interface. Assuch, I/O interface 170 extends the capacity of I/O channel 112 whenperipheral interface 172 and the I/O channel are of the same type, andthe I/O interface translates information from a format suitable to theI/O channel to a format suitable to the peripheral interface 172 whenthey are of a different type. Add-on resource 174 can include a datastorage system, an additional graphics interface, a network interfacecard (NIC), a sound/video processing card, another add-on resource, or acombination thereof. Add-on resource 174 can be on a main circuit board,on a separate circuit board or add-in card disposed within informationhandling system 100, a device that is external to the informationhandling system, or a combination thereof.

Network interface 180 represents a network communication device disposedwithin information handling system 100, on a main circuit board of theinformation handling system, integrated onto another component such aschipset 110, in another suitable location, or a combination thereof.Network interface 180 includes a network channel 182 that provides aninterface to devices that are external to information handling system100. In a particular embodiment, network channel 182 is of a differenttype than peripheral interface 172, and network interface 180 translatesinformation from a format suitable to the peripheral channel to a formatsuitable to external devices.

In a particular embodiment, network interface 180 includes a NIC or hostbus adapter (HBA), and an example of network channel 182 includes anInfiniBand channel, a Fibre Channel, a Gigabit Ethernet channel,proprietary channel architecture, or a combination thereof. In anotherembodiment, network interface 180 includes a wireless communicationinterface, and network channel 182 includes a Wi-Fi channel, anear-field communication (NFC) channel, a Bluetooth orBluetooth-Low-Energy (BLE) channel, a cellular based interface such as aGlobal System for Mobile (GSM) interface, a Code-Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) interface, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) interface, a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) interface, or anothercellular based interface, or a combination thereof. Network channel 182can be connected to an external network resource (not illustrated). Thenetwork resource can include another information handling system, a datastorage system, another network, a grid management system, anothersuitable resource, or a combination thereof.

BMC 190 is connected to multiple elements of information handling system100 via one or more management interface 192 to provide out of bandmonitoring, maintenance, and control of the elements of the informationhandling system. As such, BMC 190 represents a processing devicedifferent from processor 102 and processor 104, which provides variousmanagement functions for information handling system 100. For example,BMC 190 may be responsible for power management, cooling management, andthe like. The term BMC is often used in the context of server systems,while in a consumer-level device a BMC may be referred to as an embeddedcontroller (EC). A BMC included at a data storage system can be referredto as a storage enclosure processor. A BMC included at a chassis of ablade server can be referred to as a chassis management controller andembedded controllers included at the blades of the blade server can bereferred to as blade management controllers. Capabilities and functionsprovided by BMC 190 can vary considerably based on the type ofinformation handling system. BMC 190 can operate in accordance with anIntelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). Examples of BMC 190include an Integrated Dell® Remote Access Controller (iDRAC).

Management interface 192 represents one or more out-of-bandcommunication interfaces between BMC 190 and the elements of informationhandling system 100, and can include an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)bus, a System Management Bus (SMBUS), a Power Management Bus (PMBUS), aLow Pin Count (LPC) interface, a serial bus such as a Universal SerialBus (USB) or a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), a network interfacesuch as an Ethernet interface, a high-speed serial data link such as aPeripheral Component Interconnect-Express (PCIe) interface, a NetworkController Sideband Interface (NC-SI), or the like. As used herein,out-of-band access refers to operations performed apart from aBIOS/operating system execution environment on information handlingsystem 100, that is apart from the execution of code by processors 102and 104 and procedures that are implemented on the information handlingsystem in response to the executed code.

BMC 190 operates to monitor and maintain system firmware, such as codestored in BIOS/EFI module 142, option ROMs for graphics adapter 130,disk controller 150, add-on resource 174, network interface 180, orother elements of information handling system 100, as needed or desired.In particular, BMC 190 includes a network interface 194 that can beconnected to a remote management system to receive firmware updates, asneeded or desired. Here, BMC 190 receives the firmware updates, storesthe updates to a data storage device associated with the BMC, transfersthe firmware updates to NV-RAM of the device or system that is thesubject of the firmware update, thereby replacing the currentlyoperating firmware associated with the device or system, and rebootsinformation handling system, whereupon the device or system utilizes theupdated firmware image.

BMC 190 utilizes various protocols and application programminginterfaces (APIs) to direct and control the processes for monitoring andmaintaining the system firmware. An example of a protocol or API formonitoring and maintaining the system firmware includes a graphical userinterface (GUI) associated with BMC 190, an interface defined by theDistributed Management Taskforce (DMTF) (such as a Web ServicesManagement (WSMan) interface, a Management Component Transport Protocol(MCTP) or, a Redfish® interface), various vendor-defined interfaces(such as a Dell EMC Remote Access Controller Administrator (RACADM)utility, a Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise, a Dell EMC OpenManage ServerAdministrator (OMSS) utility, a Dell EMC OpenManage Storage Services(OMSS) utility, or a Dell EMC OpenManage Deployment Toolkit (DTK)suite), a BIOS setup utility such as invoked by a “F2” boot option, oranother protocol or API, as needed or desired.

In a particular embodiment, BMC 190 is included on a main circuit board(such as a baseboard, a motherboard, or any combination thereof) ofinformation handling system 100 or is integrated onto another element ofthe information handling system such as chipset 110, or another suitableelement, as needed or desired. As such, BMC 190 can be part of anintegrated circuit or a chipset within information handling system 100.An example of BMC 190 includes an iDRAC or the like. BMC 190 may operateon a separate power plane from other resources in information handlingsystem 100. Thus BMC 190 can communicate with the management system vianetwork interface 194 while the resources of information handling system100 are powered off. Here, information can be sent from the managementsystem to BMC 190 and the information can be stored in a RAM or NV-RAMassociated with the BMC. Information stored in the RAM may be lost afterpower-down of the power plane for BMC 190, while information stored inthe NV-RAM may be saved through a power-down/power-up cycle of the powerplane for the BMC.

Information handling system 100 can include additional components andadditional busses, not shown for clarity. For example, informationhandling system 100 can include multiple processor cores, audio devices,and the like. While a particular arrangement of bus technologies andinterconnections is illustrated for the purpose of example, one of skillwill appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein are applicable toother system architectures. Information handling system 100 can includemultiple central processing units (CPUs) and redundant bus controllers.One or more components can be integrated together. Information handlingsystem 100 can include additional buses and bus protocols, for example,I2C and the like. Additional components of information handling system100 can include one or more storage devices that can storemachine-executable code, one or more communications ports forcommunicating with external devices, and various input and output (I/O)devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display.

For purpose of this disclosure information handling system 100 caninclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business,scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. For example,information handling system 100 can be a personal computer, a laptopcomputer, a smartphone, a tablet device or other consumer electronicdevice, a network server, a network storage device, a switch, a router,or another network communication device, or any other suitable deviceand may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price.Further, information handling system 100 can include processingresources for executing machine-executable code, such as processor 102,a programmable logic array (PLA), an embedded device such as aSystem-on-a-Chip (SoC), or other control logic hardware. Informationhandling system 100 can also include one or more computer-readable mediafor storing machine-executable code, such as software or data.

Pressure sensitive electronic display devices, also referred to as touchscreens, are commonly used in viewing or managing content with the helpof a stylus. In this regard, being able to transfer data between thescreens on a dual-screen electric device or between screens of differentelectronic devices is desirable for a user to view or manage content.For example, the user may want to easily transfer data from a smartcellular telephone to her portable computer for further processing. Tofacilitate this and other advantages, the present disclosure providessystems and methods to cut or copy the content to a clipboard andtransfer the clipboard data between display screens.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 to transfer clipboard data betweendisplay devices that may be implemented is depicted. The clipboard datamay be transferred between display screens of the same device ordifferent devices. System 200 includes an information handling system205, an information handling system 260, and a stylus 240. Informationhandling system 205 and information handling system 260 are similar toinformation handling system 100 of FIG. 1. Stylus 240 incudes a memory242. Information handling system 205 includes a first housing 210 and asecond housing 215. First housing 210 includes a memory 220 and a firstdisplay device 225. First display device 225 includes a content 235 anda sensor 230. Second housing 215 includes a communication module 217 anda second display device 245 which includes a sensor 250. Informationhandling system 260 includes a first housing 265 and a second housing270. First housing 265 includes a memory 275 and a first display device280 which includes a sensor 285. Second housing 270 includes acommunication module 272 and a second display device 290 and a sensor295.

As illustrated information handling system 205 includes a first housing210 and a second housing 215. Information handling system 205 may be ane-book reader, a mobile cell phone, a laptop, a notebook, a tablet, adesktop, or any other touch-sensitive computing device. Informationhandling system 205 may include software that enables a user to use itwith stylus 240 in a manner similar to a pad of paper or paper-basednotebook and in-based pen or graphite-based pencil.

While information handling system 205 is shown with two housings, inother implementations, information handling system 205 may include asingle housing such as a tablet form factor. In yet anotherimplementation, information handling system 205 may include more thantwo housings. Information handling system 205 may be a laptop or otherinformation handling system with a touch screen display. Informationhandling system 260 and its components may be configured similar toinformation handling system 205. For example, communication module 272may be similar to communication module 217. In addition, first displaydevice 280 and second display device 290 may be similar to first displaydevice 225 and second display device 245. Also, first housing 265 andsecond housing 270 may be similar to first housing 210 and secondhousing 215.

In some cases, a data cable may run through a hinge between the housingsto connect components in first housing 210 with the components in secondhousing 215. In other cases, communication module 217 may provide awireless communication channel between the first housing 210 and secondhousing 215. For example, a first wireless transceiver in first housing210 and in second housing 215 may provide wireless communicationsbetween the two housings.

Communication module 217 may be configured to allow for connection to anearby electronic device so that data can be downloaded to the stylusfrom the display device, pasted from the stylus or onto the device, oroptionally deleted from the stylus. For example, connection modules mayinclude an advanced encryption standard (AES), NFC, radio-frequencyidentification (RFID), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, electromagnetic, infrared, orother communication technologies. Communication module 217 may also be awireless transceiver, wireless interface, or similar to networkinterface 180 of FIG. 1. Although communication module 217 is shownincluded in second housing 215, in other embodiments, first housing 210may also include a communication module similar to communication module217.

Communication link 247 may illustrate a wireless communication betweeninformation handling system 205 and information handling system 260 viacommunication module 217 and communication module 272 respectively whichmay be used to transfer content 235 between the information handlingsystems. Communication link 247 may include an AES, NFC, Bluetooth,802.11 b/g/n wireless local area network (WLAN), or other suitablecommunication links that allow for the transfer of data between one ormore display devices and stylus 240.

Sensor 230 may be configured with stylus detection technology to detectstylus 240 and/or stylus input. For example, first display device 225may be layered with a capacitive input sensor grid for passivetouch-based input, such as with a finger or passive stylus. Numeroustouch screen display configurations can be implemented using any numberof known or proprietary screen-based input detecting technologies.Sensor 250, sensor 285, and sensor 295 may be similar to sensor 230.

Stylus 240 may be a touch-input device such as a pen that is used toprovide input on a touch-sensitive display. For example, stylus 240 mayenable a user to write directly unto a touchscreen display device of acomputing device such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptopcomputer. Stylus 240 may also be used to copy or cut content 235 from adisplay screen of an information handling by manipulating stylus 240 orits control features. Stylus 240 may also be used to paste content 235to the same or a different display screen, wherein the display screen iswith the same or a different information handling system. Stylus 240 maybe implemented with a number of stylus technologies such as a DouSense®pen by N-Trig® or electromagnetic resonance-based pens by Wacomtechnology or any other commercially available or proprietary stylustechnology. Stylus 240 may include a near field communicationtechnology, such as, for example, Bluetooth that enables the stylus tobe associated, such as paired, with a particular computing device.Stylus 240 may also include a processor to provide local intelligenceand a memory such as memory 242 for storage.

Stylus 240 may be configured to select content 235 which may includedata such as text, imagery, files, or other media from first displaydevice 225 and copy it to a clipboard such as memory 220, a portion ofmemory 220, or other temporary storage on information handling system205. The cut, copy, and/or paste of content may be in response to astylus action or via a control feature such as a button in stylus 240.In one embodiment, content 235 may not be copied to stylus 240. Instead,stylus 240 may be configured to store connection data which includes anidentifier key, internet protocol address, and public key in memory 242that may be used to identify, authenticate, and/or find the owner of thecontent to be pasted. The public key may be a transport layer security(TLS) public key. Based on the stored connection data, stylus 240 may beused to create a secure communication link between display devices orinformation handling systems, such as communication link 247. Forexample, the connection data may be used to find information handlingsystem 205 and/or first display device 225 when sharing content 235 toanother display device, such as second display device 245. Theconnection data may also be used to find information handling system 205and/or first display device 225 when sharing content 235 to anotherdevice such as first display device 280 of information handling system260. The identifier key may include the location of the copied data,device name, media access control (MAC) address, or similar information.

When stylus 240 is detected by the second display device, such as duringa hover mode on the screen of the second display device, a preview ofthe first display device's clipboard data is ghosted onto the screen ofthe second display device. When the stylus is placed into “paste” modevia a button action and linked via Bluetooth to the second displaydevice, a secure transport layer security link or other securityprotocol may be established between the first display device and thesecond display device, such as NFC, radio frequency identification(RFID), etc. When the content is in the user's desired position, a tapon the screen by the stylus will paste the content into the previewedlocation on the screen of the second display device. If content 235 isdesired to be cut and paste from a primary screen to a secondary screenon a dual-screen device then the transport layer security link is notnecessary. The application in the secondary screen can retrieve theclipboard data directly from the primary screen.

FIG. 2 is annotated with a series of letters A-C. Each of these lettersrepresents a stage of one or more operations. Although these stages areordered for this example, the stages illustrate one example to aid inunderstanding this disclosure and should not be used to limit theclaims. Subject matter falling within the scope of the claims can varywith respect to the order of the operations.

At stage A, content 235 is copied to memory 220 of first display device225. At stage B, communication link 247 is established betweeninformation handling system 205 and information handling system 260.Prior to establishing communication link 247, a connection based on AESprotocol may be established between information handling system 205 andinformation handling system 260. In particular, the AES communicationchannel may be established between the stylus and a touch controller ofthe information handling system by shift-keying the receive (Rx) andtransmit (Tx) lines on the sensors embedded in the display device. Thetouch controller may be configured to track the change between eachcouple of Rx and Tx lines and detects the touch event. The Rx\Tx linemay mark the user's desired location for pasting the content.

The AES communication channel is a low-speed communication channel,typically 1.5 MHz downlink and 400 kHz uplink, which may be used totransfer the connection data stored in memory 242 to establishcommunication link 247 which may be a backend connection betweeninformation handling system 205 and information handling system 260. Theconnection data includes data used in establishing communication link247, such as the identifier key, internet protocol address, public key,etc. In particular, the public key may be used to authenticate the firstdisplay device when establishing communication link 247. The connectioninformation may also be used to locate content 235 in first displaydevice 225. For example, the connection information may be used tolocate memory 220. In an additional embodiment, a Bluetooth wirelesslink could also provide this communication path.

The establishment of the secure connection may be performed using ahandshake protocol such as a TLS handshake protocol. In particular, theestablishment of the secure connection between information handlingsystem 205 and information handling system 260 may include informationhandling system 260 receiving the public key and internet protocoladdress of information handling system 205 from memory 242. Informationhandling system 260 would send an encrypted request using the public keyof information handling system 205 which would include a certificate ofinformation handling system 260. Information handling system 205 wouldreceipt the encrypted request from information handling system 260 anddecrypt it. Information handling system 205 would then initiate a keyexchange to be used for the data transfer with information handlingsystem 260. For example, information handling system 205 would initiatea Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) or Diffie-Hellman key exchange.Information handling system 260 processes one or more parametersassociated with the key exchange verifies the MAC address and returns anencrypted “Finished” message to information handling system 205. At thispoint, an application in information handling system 260 can take overand use the encrypted connection to transfer data from informationhandling system 205.

At stage C, after communication link 247 is established, informationhandling system 260 may have the ability to access the memory 220 ofinformation handling system 205 which allows the information handlingsystem 260 to copy and paste data such as content 235 from memory 220 toinformation handling system 260. In particular, the data copied to theclipboard may be transmitted to the other display device usingcommunication link 247. In one embodiment, content 235 may be pasted tomemory 275, which is similar to memory 220. Upon paste of content 235,the same may be deleted from memory 220. Content 235 may be previewedwhen stylus 240 is hovering over a secondary display device such assecond display device 245 prior to a commit. Content 235 may also bepreviewed when stylus 240 is hovering over another display device ofanother information handling system, such as first display device 280 orsecond display device 290 prior to a commit. The commit or paste may beperformed when stylus 240 touches the surface of the secondary displaydevice or the other display device. Upon preview, if content 235 is notthe desired content to be copied, instead of touching the surface of thesecondary display device or the other display device, stylus 240 ismoved away such as back to the first display device. A communicationlink may also be established between first display device 225 and seconddisplay device 245 that allows second display device 245 to copy andpaste data from first display device 225 and a second display devicesuch as second display device 245.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 for the transfer of clipboard databetween display screens. Method 300 may be performed by one or morecomponents of system 200 of FIG. 2. While embodiments of the presentdisclosure are described in terms of system 200 FIG. 2, it should berecognized that other systems may be utilized to perform the describedmethod. One of skill in the art will appreciate that this flowchartexplains a typical example, which can be extended to advancedapplications or services in practice.

Method 300 typically starts at block 305 where a stylus is detected on afirst display device. The first display device may include apressure-sensitive surface such as a touch-sensitive surface that iscapable of receiving input via pressure applied by the stylus to thesurface of the first display device. A stylus may be used to copy andpaste between two screens on a dual-screen device. The stylus may alsobe used to copy and paste between two display devices such as between ascreen of an information handling system and a second screen in a secondinformation handling system using a secure link. The informationhandling systems may have touch-sensitive screens that allow input fromthe stylus. For example, the stylus may be used to copy and pastebetween a laptop and a tablet or vice versa. The method proceeds todecision block 310.

At decision block 310, the method determines whether a selection ofcontent in the display device has been made using the stylus. Thecontent may be selected by a gesture of the user performed with thestylus. If a selection has been made using the stylus, then the “YES”branch is taken and the method proceeds to block 315. If a selection hasnot been made with the stylus, then the “NO” branch is taken and themethod loops back to decision block 310 to continue monitoring for acontent selection using the stylus.

At block 315, the selected content may be copied or cut to a clipboardof the first display device. For example, a file, a string of plaintext, image data, audio data, multimedia data, or any other data typemay be placed in the local clipboard of the first display device. Themethod proceeds to decision block 320. At decision block 320, the methoddetermines whether a paste action is initiated on the stylus. If thepaste action is initiated, then the “YES” branch is taken and the methodproceeds to decision block 325. If the paste action is not initiated,then the “NO” branch is taken and the method proceeds to decision block310.

At decision block 325, the method determines whether the stylus isdetected hovering some distance from the screen of the first displaydevice. For example, the stylus may be detected hovering severalcentimeters above the screen by a sensing technology deployed in thetouch-sensitive display screen of the first display device. The firstdisplay device may determine a distance between the tip of the stylusand the surface of the display device. For example, the distance may bedetermined using a stylus sensor, electromagnetic resonance, Bluetooth,or another type of technology.

If the stylus is detected hovering above the screen of the first displaydevice, then the “YES” branch is taken and the method proceeds todecision block 330. If the stylus is not detected hovering above thescreen of the first display device, then the “NO” branch is taken andthe method loops back to decision block 325. At decision block 330, themethod determines whether the stylus is on a second display device.Similar to the first display device, the second display device mayinclude a touch input sensor that is capable of receiving input viapressure applied by the stylus to the screen or surface of the seconddisplay device. The first display device and the second display devicemay be configured to behave as independent display devices or the seconddisplay device may be configured as an extension of the first displaydevice or vice versa. If the stylus is on the second display device,then the “YES” branch is taken and the method proceeds to block 335. Ifthe stylus is not determined to be on the second display device, thenthe “NO” branch is taken and the method proceeds to block 350.

At block 335, the method sends a device identifier key of the firstdisplay device to the second display device as part of the key exchange.The method proceeds to block 340 where it establishes a secureconnection between the first display device and the second displaydevice. Before the first display device and the second display devicecan begin exchanging data over a secure communication channel, thesecure communication channel is negotiated which includes the firstdisplay device and the second display device agreeing on a protocolversion, choosing a cipher suite, and verifying certificates. Subsequentto establishing the secure connection, the method copies the contents ofthe clipboard from the first display device to the second display devicein block 345. In one embodiment, the method may copy the contents to theclipboard of the second display device.

At block 350, the method previews the clipboard content at a point wherethe stylus was hovering, also referred to as a hover point, on thedisplay of the device. The hover point may be based on the location ofthe stylus tip and the angle of the stylus, a location to which thestylus is pointing can be determined. The method may preview theclipboard content at an application of the device. An algorithm may usethe virtual light source (VLS) along with the direction, locationincluding height from the surface of the display device, and the angleof the stylus to display the previewed data. The method proceeds todecision block 405 at FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for the transfer of clipboard databetween display screens. Method 400 is a continuation of method 300 ofFIG. 3. While embodiments of the present disclosure are described interms of system 200 FIG. 2, it should be recognized that other systemsmay be utilized to perform the described method. One of skill in the artwill appreciate that this flowchart explains a typical example, whichcan be extended to advanced applications or services in practice.

At decision block 405, the method determines whether the stylus touchesthe display screen of the second display device. If the stylus touchesthe display screen of the second display device, then the “YES” branchis taken and the method proceeds to block 410. If the stylus does nottouch the display screen of the second display device, then the “NO”branch is taken and the method proceeds to decision block 415.

At decision block 415, the method determines whether the stylus is nolonger detected. If the stylus is no longer detected, then the “YES”branch is taken, and then the method proceeds to block 420. If thestylus is still detected, then the “NO” branch is taken and the methodproceeds to decision block 405. At block 410, the method pastes thecontents of the clipboard at the location of the stylus. In particular,the method pastes the content of the clipboard at the point the stylustouches the display screen of the second display device. At block 420,the method cancels the preview and/or paste of the clipboard content.The method ends subsequent to block 410 and block 420.

Although FIG. 3 show example blocks of method 300 in someimplementation, method 300 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks,different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks ofmethod 300 may be performed in parallel. For example, block 335 andblock 340 of method 300 may be performed in parallel.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionalities as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions or receives and executes instructions responsiveto a propagated signal; so that a device connected to a network cancommunicate voice, video, or data over the network. Further, theinstructions may be transmitted or received over the network via thenetwork interface device.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom-access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or another storage device to storeinformation received via carrier wave signals such as a signalcommunicated over a transmission medium. A digital file attachment to ane-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archivesmay be considered a distribution medium that is equivalent to a tangiblestorage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include anyone or more of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium andother equivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions maybe stored.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detailabove, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theembodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: copying, by a hardwareprocessor, content from a first display device to a first memory of thefirst display device using a stylus; storing an identifier key and apublic key associated with the first display device to a second memoryassociated with the stylus; establishing a secure communication linkbetween the first display device and a second display device using theidentifier key and the public key; and pasting the content from thefirst memory of the first display device to the second display devicewith the stylus, wherein the content is transferred from the firstdisplay device via the secure communication link.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the first memory is a clipboard.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the identifier key is used to identify the first display device.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifier key includes a devicename of the first display device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thepasting of the content is performed at a user's desired location on thesecond display device.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcopying an internet protocol address to the second memory.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising, prior to the establishing the securecommunication link, using an advanced encryption standard protocol intransmitting the identifier key to the second display device.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the secure communication link is Bluetoothwireless communication channel.
 9. The method of claim 1, previewing thecontent when the stylus is hovering above the second display device. 10.The method of claim 1, performing a commit when the stylus touches adisplay screen of the second display device.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the secure communication link allows the second display deviceto access the first memory of the first display device.
 12. Aninformation handling system, comprising: a first display device having atouch-sensitive surface capable of detecting a stylus, wherein the firstdisplay device includes a first memory; the stylus configured tocommunicate with the first display device via the touch-sensitivesurface, wherein the stylus includes a second memory; and a processorconfigured to: copy content from the touch-sensitive surface to thefirst memory of the first display device; store an identifier key and apublic key that are both associated with the first display device to thesecond memory; establish a secure communication link between the firstdisplay device and a second display device using the identifier key andthe public key; and paste the content from the first memory to thesecond display device using the stylus, wherein the content istransmitted via the secure communication link.
 13. The informationhandling system of claim 12, wherein the first memory is a clipboard.14. The information handling system of claim 12, wherein the identifierkey is used to identify the first display device.
 15. The informationhandling system of claim 12, wherein the identifier key includes adevice name of the first display device.
 16. The information handlingsystem of claim 12, wherein the paste of the content is performed at auser's desired location on a touch screen of the second display device.17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including code that whenexecuted performs a method, the method comprising: copying content froma touch screen of a first display device to a first memory of the firstdisplay device using a stylus; storing an identifier key and a publickey associated with the first display device to a second memoryassociated with the stylus; establishing a secure communication linkbetween the first display device and a second display device using theidentifier key and the public key stored in the second memory; andpasting the content from the first memory of the first display device tothe second display device with the stylus, wherein the content istransmitted via the secure communication link.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising, prior to theestablishing the secure communication link, using advanced encryptionstandard protocol in transmitting the identifier key to the seconddisplay device.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim17, wherein the secure communication link allows the second displaydevice to access the first memory of the first display device.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprisingpreviewing the content when the stylus is hovering above a displayscreen of the second display device.